Dani Stevens

Dani Stevens

Stevens in 2015
Personal information
Born	(1988-05-26) 26 May 1988 (age 36) Fairfield, New South Wales
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Sport
Country	Australia
Sport	Athletics
Event	Discus throw
Club	Westfields Athletics Club[1]
Turned pro	2003
Retired	2021
Medal record World Championships 2009 Berlin Discus throw 2017 London Discus throw Commonwealth Games 2014 Glasgow Discus throw 2018 Gold Coast Discus throw 2006 Melbourne Discus throw Universiade 2009 Belgrade Discus throw 2007 Bangkok Discus throw World Junior Championships 2006 Beijing Discus throw World Youth Championships 2005 Marrakesh Discus throw 2005 Marrakesh Shot Put

Dani Stevens (née Samuels, born 26 May 1988)^[2] is an Australian retired discus thrower who in 2009 became the youngest ever female world champion in the event.^[3] She is the current national and Oceanian record holder.

After winning the discus gold and shot put bronze medals at the 2005 World Youth Championships in Athletics, she went on to win the bronze medal in the discus at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne at the age of seventeen. She won the discus silver at the 2007 Summer Universiade and represented Australia at her first World Championships in Athletics soon after. She reached the final of the 2008 Beijing Olympics and improved significantly the following year to win the gold medal at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics.

Samuels is one of only eleven athletes (along with Valerie Adams, Usain Bolt, Veronica Campbell-Brown, Armand Duplantis, Jacques Freitag, Yelena Isinbayeva, Kirani James, Faith Kipyegon, Jana Pittman, and David Storl) to win world championships at the youth, junior, and senior level of an athletic event. Her personal best throws are 69.64 m for the discus and 17.05 metres in the shot put.

Samuels has also spent many winters playing basketball in the Waratah League alongside her sister, Jamie, who has played in the Women's National Basketball League.^[4]